From Shanghai to the city of Suzhou and Tai Lake, the third largest in China. Across three bridges to West Island, the home of Bi Luo Chun. One of the most famous green teas in China, it has very distinctive soft curled leaves, dark greenish-grey in colour with silver buds. It is very light and almost fluffy to the touch:
The bushes are grown on a wooded hillside above the village, and are all the original Bi Luo Chun variety.
Only the shoots and smallest leaves are picked.
This is a completely handmade tea, simply using a wok to heat the leaves as they are repeatedly pressed and rolled by an expert tea maker.
The process takes 40 minutes and when the tea leaves the wok it only needs to cool, there is no more processing of any kind.
It is an amazing piece of skill and great to watch.
The fresh tea has a very sweet fragrance.
Seeing all that is involved in producing perhaps 500g of tea in this way helps me to understand why the best Chinese teas are so highly valued.
Versions of Bi Luo Chun are now produced in other parts of China, often using machines, but they are really not the same. If you see a very even twisted leaf it is not a handmade tea.
The flavour is soft and delicate with a sweet aftertaste. As with all green teas, the best method of preparation in in a tall straight glass - about an inch of water at 85C first, add a dessert spoonful of leaves, then top up with water. Allow the leaves to open, then taste. It will have no colour but a good aroma and flavour. You will be able to repeat this process with the same leaves 2 or 3 times if the tea is of high quality.
Jennifer checking samples from various batches to assess their quality
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